Friday, November 23, 2007

This evening members of my high school class are gathering at a local (back home) club to share stories of the "Good Ol' Days". We're not going. Why, you ask...or perhaps you really don't care. I'm going to tell you anyway.

1. Thanksgiving is a busy time in our church and household...because of our Thursday night service, Common Grounds, which ministers to over one hundred people each week who are homeless, trying to restart their lives or disenfranchised. When we started this service almost 4 years ago, we thought we'd be reaching students at Marshall University through contemporary music, food offered by donation and a different style of preaching. But God had different ideas...people came and they brought friends. But I digress. We had our 2nd annual Thanksgiving dinner at which we served 137 people. So, that is one reason we didn't travel back home because we wanted to be able to chill without traveling.

2. My senior class was made up of some very non-nice people. These were the folks that made your life miserable if you were smart, went to church, didn't drink, or were different in any way shape or form from them. These were the folks who agreed to be in charge of the reunions from our graduation on. These were the folks who had our 5 year in a woods where they used to party and expected everyone to chip in for the keg. I didn't go to that one either. So, why would I want to spend money to have an indigestion causing dinner with people that I didn't like then and don't really want to spend time with now.

3. For our 10 year reunion, Jim and I had just gotten married...I was skinny, tan....it was good. We had just gotten back from our honeymoon and went. I thought maybe they'd be different (I'd heard that from my cousin) but it was the same ol' same ol'. First of all, my invitation came to Carol Snyder Methesco (the seminary I was attending at the time) McKay. I didn't realize I had married some fictional character named Methesco. Hmm....where was my free tuition. When we got there I thought things were going to be different, but uh no. People were given awards for having the most children. This one chick who used to be a good friend of mine in 6th grade...who didn't graduate with us but left the end of our sophomore year...was "voted" best dressed and most successful. Not rally sure what she did...but there you go. I visited with three good friends while the b-squad still sat in the corner and talked about people. I thought they'd be different but they weren't.

4. This year they "couldn't find me" to send me the invitation. My parents go to one of my classmates who is an optometrist. He asked if I was coming for it. My mom told him I hadn't heard anything about it...this was about 3 weeks ago if that. He said they didn't know how to find me. I don't buy that story. First of all, my parents live in the same house that I had lived in all my life til I left after college. Second, there's the internet...on which you can find so many people just by Googling them. But, somehow mysteriously I got an invitation in the mail. My thought is they invited people only after they found out they didn't have enough money for the club.

5. My real friends won't be there. There is a group of us who really don't want to be around the negative influence of our high school peers. We've talked about having a anti-reunion reunion. One where we can sit and chat and catch up.

It's sad to me that people don't change. I feel as though when I went to college I grew up. I'd love to get together with those folks...we shared lives for four years...we became a part of each other's lives and will remember one another forever. Those I went to seminary with are like family...we experienced so much together...we can get together at alum days and it's like we never left. But these folks...some of which I have known for 34+ years are some of the most distant people I know.

Twenty years...where have they gone? I can't believe it's been that long. But all the same, I'll pass on seeing these folks this year cuz quite frankly, I don't want to go back in time.